Rainbow Song, Red Scales
by Writer of a Thousand Stories
Summary: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It begins with the meeting between a honest boy and a girl that wants to save the world.
1. Chapter 1

"Shitori-san? Can I trouble you for a minute?"

Sona Shitori, in truth Sona Sitri of the noble Devil clan of Sitri, looked up from the document she was reading. "Of course, Vice-Principal. Please, have a seat."

The middle-aged man nodded before moving away from the doorframe and further inside the Student Council's room. In appearance there was nothing remarkable about him, beside the beginning traces of hair loss Sona was sure he carefully hide every morning, and in regard to his work he was mostly an yes-man to the principal without a single original idea. Still, he did his duty efficiently and without complains: the heiress may not be impressed with the man, but as a student she respected him.

After another brief nod to the other members of the Council working in the room the Vice-Principal sit down on the chair she always kept in front of her desk, though Sona had to confess she had it switched to a more uncomfortable one when she was forced to summon a troublesome student. Maybe it was a little petty, but it reinforced the message she wanted to convey.

Then Sona noticed the five folders in the man's hand and realized this, contrary to the man's words, was about to take more than a minute to handle. Deciding to take the initiative she folded her fingers together and, resting her elbows on the desk, slightly leaned forward. It was a posture meant to show she was taking things very seriously, and certainly not as a homage to an anime cult as Rias once suggested. "How can I help you, Vice-Principal?"

"I...will go straight to the point." He lined the folders in front of her, continuing only after putting down the last one. "Kuoh is about to receive five transfer students."

Sona blinked, idly noting the silence that fell on the room as everyone else stopped working to follow the exchange. "Five transfer students? Forgive me, but this is highly irregular. I'm not saying it is against the rules, but there is a reason most schools only accept one or two transfer students per year. And to change school so soon after the beginning of the first semester..."

"I know, I know." His tapped his fingers on the first folder. "However, there are circumstances that made the Principal approve of it regardless of the irregularities."

Taking the hint Sona picked up the folder and, opening it, began to read while listening to the Vice-Principal.

"The transfer students are all girls from the same family, and sisters at that. Their family situation is...complicated."

Sona could see why. It wasn't explicit, she realized as she switched to the second folder, but those girls had the same father and different mothers. A father that died two years ago while leaving them a small fortune.

"I do not wish to speak ill of anyone, but I was lead to believe from Miss One that their remaining relatives were very insistent about retaining control of their father's fortune even after Miss Zero reached the age of majority." He pulled at the neck of his shirt, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. "Then Miss Zero's incident happened, and the Song sisters decided a change of surroundings was good for her recovering health."

She stopped reading the fourth folder and looked up. "From the United Kingdoms to Japan? The matter of the language difference aside, it's the other side of the world."

"Miss One insisted it was necessary, lest their relatives..." He coughed, his expression switching to embarrassed. "Miss Zero called them 'hyenas' and other expletives I don't wish to repeat."

As the heiress to one of the Seventy-two Pillars of the Underworld Sona was familiar with the level of infighting a family can develop, especially when money, or more generally power, is involved.

"The language difference is not a problem: as I am sure you know Kuoh has a specialized program to accommodate foreign students, and all five sisters are very bright and intelligent. The records from their previous school are very promising: already in the initial interview they have demonstrate a surprising understanding of Japanese for beginners."

 _'Except for Two. Seriously, who use numbers for their children's names?'_ Sona thought, slightly irritated at the irrationality of it. That aside, it was true the sisters' records more than qualified them for Kuoh: the girl called Two was only above average, but she made up for it in the physical classes.

Finished with the last folder Sona put it back into its previous place and looked at the Vice-Principal. "It seems to me the decision has already been made. What would the Council's part be in all of this?"

"The Principal wishes for the Student Council to be the ones to welcome the Song sisters to Kuoh and ease them into their new lives." He cupped his chin. "He believes they're more likely to trust people of the same age than adults."

That, Sona could understand. "The Student Council cannot show preferences." She reminded him. "But if the Song sisters are to become fellow school members, then it's our duty to aid them in their time of need. You can tell the Principal I accept the task."

* * *

The limousine moved down the road, towards the main gates of Kuoh Academy. Sona, with Tsubaki and Momo on her sides, watched as it stopped a few meters in front of them, the driver getting off and moving to open the passenger door on the right side. Before he could reach it the door on the left side opened on its own, and out of it came out a tall girl with short, messy blue hair and a flower on the left side of her head. The girl, who Sona recognized as Two, was admiring the academy with such vivid wonder and excitement in her blue eyes that Sona felt a bit of pride swelling inside. "Waaah! Everyone, you have to see this! Kuoh Academy is even more beautiful and big in person!"

"You don't use 'in person' when talking about a place, Two. You use 'the real thing'." Coming out next was one of Two's younger sisters, Four. She had long brown hair tied with two twin-tails in the back and two long locks coming down on both sides of her face, green eyes and a pair of green earrings. Though, Sona noticed her nails were kept strangely long.

Meanwhile the driver has reached the other door and opened it, standing to the side to let the passage free. "Thank you Andreas." With graceful movements a young-looking girl stepped out, her gaze moving to the school before immediately focusing on Sona. One, the second eldest of the Song sisters, had short blonde hair held back by a headband and peculiar crimson eyes. Like Four she had a pair of earrings, but colored ivory white.

Nodding to One the driver moved to the rear trunk and, after opening it, took out a collapsible wheelchair he rolled in front of the passenger door. "Out of the question." Someone still inside the car said, the voice's tone brooking no argument. "Put that back."

One held up a hand to stop the driver before addressing the one still in the car. "Elder Sister, please. It's necessary."

"Bullshit. I can walk on my own, I don't need to be carried around like a freaking invalid."

Sighing, if at the stubbornness or the coarse language Sona didn't know, the blonde girl pushed on. "The recovery period prescribed by the doctor has not ended yet. Until then, you need to move as little as possible."

"That guy is a quack. I am _fine_. Give it to Three, she needs it more."

"I don't wish to encourage her bad habits." One stated firmly before her expression softened. "Please Elder Sister, bear with it just a little more. It would ease my worries knowing you're taking care of yourself."

"...Not a second more. And when it ends, I'm setting fire on that infernal contraction myself."

Two sighed again. "As you wish, Elder Sister." A hand completely covered in bandages emerged from the open passage, followed by a pair of shapely legs bandaged in the same manner as the owner stepped out the car. Zero, the eldest of the Song sisters, was a young woman just at the cusp of adulthood: unlike her sisters, who wore the Kuoh female uniform, she was wearing a white dress that ended just above her knees, with long sleeves and a high neck, and over it a black jacket left open at the front. She had long, flowing silver hair tied at the back with a black ribbon, where they split into two like the tail of a swallow. Bandages also covered the right side of her face, leaving free only the mouth, the nose and the left eye. The latter was a lovely pink, reminding Sona of a rose, but Zero's beauty was marred by a pronounced scowl that seemed carved into her face. Without another word she sit on the wheelchair, crossed her arms and looked away.

"Aww, is my lovely big sister upset?" A mischievous, sultry voice commented as another blonde girl got out of the car after Zero. Despite being the youngest Five looked older than Zero, with generous curves and large breasts on par with Rias. Her whole behavior honestly reminded Sona of Akeno. Five's blonde hair were long, reaching her back, with a single braid moving from the top of her forehead to its right side and a beauty mark under the left one of her eyes, which were golden.

"What do you think?" Zero grumbled, moving her head to glare at Five, who just giggled in response.

"Where're Three?" One demanded.

On the other side of the car Two put her head back inside. "Three, we have arrived. Threeee!" She moved even further inside, until only her legs could be seen. "Wake up Three! We have arrived! You need to get out of the car!"

"Okaayyy..." A sleeping voice droned before Two helped the owner leave the car. Among the Song sisters Three was easily the most beautiful, her refined and delicate features those of a fashion model. Her intelligence was also top notch, constantly scoring perfect grades in all subjects. Her only flaw was a mild case of narcolepsy, as was clearly demonstrate there. Her long purple hair reached the shoulders, and her eyes were purple as well.

"Is everyone ready?" One looked at the other girls and nodded. "Good. Let's go."

"Oh! Oh!" With a cheerful smile Two walked behind Zero's wheelchair and grabbed the handles. "Big Sis! Let me push you!"

Zero stared at Two with a blank face. "Be careful. I mean it: if I fall, I will...Well, I don't know yet what I will do. But I can assure you will _not_ like it."

"Yeees!" She grinned. "I'll be super-ultra-mega careful! Trust me, Big Sis!"

"Don't worry Big Sister Zero." Four rushed to the older girl's side and took her hand between her own. "I'll watch over Two and make sure she doesn't misuse that freakish strength of hers."

"It's not freakish..." Two pouted while Zero glared at Four and pulled her hand free of the younger sister's grasp.

"They are a lively bunch, uh?" Momo whispered to Sona's ear.

"Perhaps." She conceded. "Now hush, they're coming."

"Greetings." One said once they were close enough, giving Sona a formal bow. "You must be the representative from Kuoh Academy's Student Council."

"Sona Shitori, Student Council President. A pleasure to meet you." Sona reciprocated the bow and gestured to the girls at her sides. "Tsubaki Shinra, Vice-President, and Momo Hanakai, also of the Council. On the behalf of Kuoh Academy, let me welcome you to our school."

* * *

For the next hour Sona, Tsubaki and Momo gave the Song sisters a complete tour of the academy, illustrating in detail the strong points of its courses, the quality of its facilities and all the other characteristics that made Kuoh one of the best schools in Japan.

So what if Sona was sweetening the pill and avoiding mentioning black marks like the 'Three Perverts'? It was her duty as the Student Council President of Kuoh to make sure bright students like the five sisters behind her choose it instead of another school.

"And that concluded the tour." Sona said at the end. "I hope you enjoyed it."

"Yes, Shitori-san." One replied. "It was... _illuminating_."

"This is a very beautiful school. I'll be proud to attend it." Four offered Tsubaki a handshake, surprising the black-haired girl a little before she accepted it with a small smile.

"Now, if you excuse us we'll accompany Elder Sister Zero back to the car before going to our assigned classes." One continued.

"Of course." Sona nodded. "Please go on, I'll wait here for you."

Once the six sisters were out of earshot and no one else was present Two addressed the others with a beaming smile. "Big Sis One! This new school is amazing!"

"It's not: too few males." Five pouted. "I was so looking forward to taste Japanese cute boys..."

"Is _that_ the only thing you think about?" Four scolded her younger sister. "Why do you have to be always so shameless? You could try to be more like...yes, like Shinra-san: she's graceful, polite and-"

"A Devil." One suddenly revealed. The others were either surprised or unconcerned about it, while Four looked positively aghast. "She's a Devil, and so are the other two. The whole Student Council is probably a Peerage or something."

"Oh my God!" Four slapped her right hand on the wall, dragging her palm over the rough surface before taking out a cleaning tissue and frantically rubbing her hand with a sneer of distaste. "I touched a Bat! Smiled at it! Gross! Disgusting!"

"Here we go again..." Zero rolled her eyes. "You know they're not infected or something, right?"

"Neither are worms, but you don't touch them either! Big Sister One, we must leave this filthy place at once!"

"We will do no such thing." One ignored Four's pleading look and continued. "The presence of Devils change nothing, this is still one of the best schools in Japan. I doubt they interfere with the lives of normal students, so as long as we keep under the radar no one will bother us."

"A Devil..." Three muttered while playing with her hair. "I wonder how they look inside..."

"Restrain yourself Three." One admonished the younger girl. "It is still too soon. When we will be ready to move I can see about finding you a few test subjects, but until then we must be careful to not jeopardize our mission."

 _"Your_ mission, you mean." Zero rested her cheek on her closed fist, the elbow propped on the wheelchair's arm. She was looking forward with an apathetic stare. "You're the one that decided we Intoners have to save the world or some shit like that. I only want my memories back."

"Elder Sister Zero." One moved in front of Zero and, dropping to one knee, held the silver-haired girl's left hand between her own. "I swear, I have not forgotten about that. I'll do everything in my power so that you can recall all the good times we spent together, when we only had each others to depend on." Her next words, while conserving the previous warmth, now contained also an unbreakable determination. "I have long thought about the meaning behind the existence of us Intoners and our powers. It is my firm belief that we were born to stop the exploit of humanity by the supernatural races and create a new, peaceful world." She looked down. "But I cannot do it alone. I need you, my sisters, by my side. My dream has no meaning unless we're all together."

For a while no one spoke, the other sisters waiting with baited breath Zero's response.

"..." Zero stared down at her younger sister before shaking off her hold and looking away. "As I am now, I don't really have any reason to care about humanity or the world in general. But, since all of you have already jumped on this 'saving the world' shit, I might as well follow for a while. There is no telling what kind of mess you'll cause if I'm not there to watch over."

"Awww." Five cooed. "My lovely big sister is so _tsundere!"_

"...Was that an insult?" Zero glared at Five.

"Big Sis! I knew we could count on you!" Two rushed to hug Zero.

And forgot to let go of the wheelchair's handles. As a result a bizarre application of the laws of physics took place, and Zero found herself flying in the air.

"MOTHERFU-!" She screamed before gravity took back her prize and she fell down, the landing luckily cushioned by one of the three boys that walked out of a nearby corner just in that moment.

"Woah! It's raining girls now?" A bespectacled boy shouted.

"YES! God answered our prayers!" The second boy, his head completely shaved, cried out to the heavens.

Meanwhile, half of a certain brown-haired boy was busy groaning from the pain. The other half was too engrossed by the two soft orbs pressing against his face to care. _"Hoooly Shiiit!_ Are those, are those real bo-guh!"

The rest of that sentence piteously died in his throat when Zero, while pushing herself back on her feet, callously stomped on his groin. "Twoooo..." She growled, turning around to glare at the blue-haired girl before walking towards her. "I told you to be careful!"

"Eep! I'm sorry!" Two put her palms together and bowed. It was all for nothing, as Zero didn't even slow down when passing past the younger girl, her hand grabbing the back of Two's shirt neck.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson." Zero told Two while dragging her off.

"Forgive me Big Sis!"

"Uhm. Big Sister Zero?" Four muttered while following after them. "I'm not saying Two doesn't deserve some punishment for what she has done. It's just...I have the feeling what you have in mind is a little bit...excessive? Of course Big Sister knows best, and Two really deserves it, but..."

"Things are becoming interesting, don't you think so?" Five asked Three with a grin, only to grimace when she saw the purple-haired girl was sleeping. "Why I am even bothering...?"

"Oww..." The boy whined at the abuse unjustly inflicted on his precious 'equipment'. Lying on his back he opened his eyes.

And found himself face to face with One, who was leaning down to look closely at his face. The boy loved boobs, the bigger the better, yet even if the girl above him was almost flat he couldn't help but be mesmerized by her exotic beauty.

Then, to his utter embarrassment, the girl took a long _sniff_ off him. _"You."_ She said in English. _"You have a peculiar smell."_

He blushed. "Uh...What?"

 _"Your name?"_

"Eh?"

"What. Is. Your. Name?" She repeated, this time in Japanese.

"...Issei." He finally answered. "Issei Hyodou."

"Issei Hyodou." She repeated his name, as if tasting it.

Then she abruptly stood up and walked away, waking up the purple-haired girl and dragging her and the blonde bombshell with her.

 _'What the hell just happened?!'_ Issei screamed in his mind.

* * *

As expected, the arrival of five transfer students from oversea all at once gathered much attention from the other students. That they were all girls of unconventional beauty, and sisters at that, only added fuel to the fire. One, as the oldest after Zero, was made into a third-year, though not in the same class as Sona. Two and Three, as the middle children, became second-years, while Four and Five, as the youngest, became first-years.

One's cool, serious and confident attitude immediately earned her many fans, followed by the teachers' respect once she demonstrated her high intelligence. Unlike Sona, who was famous for being strict, the blonde girl was more approachable and didn't mind helping others even in regard to matters that could be seen as silly: on the contrary, he actually thanked her classmates for giving her many opportunities to improve her understanding of Japanese.

By contrast, Two and Three made for a very odd duo. The blue-haired girl's bubbly and cheerful personality allowed her to befriend everyone in her class, and even the teachers showed indulgence at her antics. Once she started attending PE many sports clubs began vying for the chance to recruit her, which greatly embarrassed Two. Three's case was similar but at the same time opposite to that of her sister: her frequent naps, even during a lesson, apathetic tone when awake and the fact she would occasionally utter strange riddles, instead of turning people away actually contributed to give her a mysterious aura that some found really alluring. It was a common sight that of Two dragging Three along to some activity or trying to make her join a conversation, often with mixed results.

In the case of Four and Five, they seemed to perfectly embody the concept of 'Red Oni, Blue Oni' so popular in Japanese culture: Four was bright, energetic and slightly awkward most of the time...until Five teased her and the two began to fight like cat and dog. The blonde could compete with both Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, the two Great Ladies of Kuoh, in beauty, such that some doubted she truly was a first year, but unlike them she loved to flaunt it with supreme confidence, especially her breasts. Something that Four always chastised her for, even if it fell on deaf ears. It came as no surprise when it turned out Five was popular among the boys and unpopular among the girls, while the opposite was true for Four.

The five sisters only had two things in common: when asked they would speak high praises of their elder sister Zero, and when it was lunch break they always gathered together on the same table of the cafeteria. It was such a close-knit group that nobody had the courage to ask to join them, and even the intensely sociable Five would turn down invitations to dine with her sisters.

"How has your day been so far?" One began like always as the five sisters sit down and took out their lunches. All of them were home-packed, with each sister preparing their own except for Three, since she would either forget to make it or just pack up things that could be consumed fresh and without preparation.

"It was fun!" Two stuffed a large piece of well-seasoned meat inside her mouth and chewed thoroughly before continuing. "The track team asked me to give it a try, and Yura-sempai managed to keep up with me! It never happened before! Maybe I should join, but I don't want to disappoint the other clubs..."

"Choose what makes you happy. Even if someone ends up disappointed, it isn't a reason to put them before yourself. Do not mistaken reasonable preferences for selfishness." One wisely instructed her.

"Mmmh..." Three mumbled, one carrot hanging between her closed lips. She raised a sketchpad, over which she drew a doll dressed in a richly elaborated dress.

"It's beautiful. Well done, Three." One nodded with a small smile. "I assume you want the materials to make it?" She received a nod. "You'll have them, but as always you must promise to keep up your grades. Understood?"

"Mmmh..." Three mumbled again before biting the carrot in half and slowly chewing the piece in her mouth.

"Five has molested a _sempai."_ Four suddenly said, shooting the blonde a disapproving glare that only elicited a giggle in response.

"What are you saying, my dear Four? It was just a bit of harmless flirting." Five coyly replied.

"You showed those bags of fat hanging from your chest _in his face!"_

"It couldn't be helped." Five pouted, looking down at her generous bosom as she lifted and let them bounce, much to Four's outrage. "Even when I told him I wanted to fuck behind the school building he kept blabbing and giving Four-like excuses such as 'It's not proper!'. At that point I just had to confirm if he was gay or not."

 _"What do you mean Four-like excuses?!"_ The brown-haired girl seethed. "Are you saying that if a man doesn't lust after you like a puppy in heat then he's obviously homosexual?!"

"My dear Four, did you hit your head somewhere?" Five looked at Four with pity, which only made her angrier.

"Stop it at once." One's commanding voice put an abrupt end to their argument, while her glare cowed them. "Five, I will not tell you how to handle your... _romantic_ life. But initiating unwanted physical contact is crossing the line. Don't forget that your actions reflect on all of us. I want you to apologize with that _sempai."_

"I'm not saying no to an excuse to meet him again." She giggled. "He's one of the best cuties around here. Blond _and_ with a mole under the left eye: clearly, we were made for each other."

"So you admit to be a narcissist. Just use a mirror and stop bothering others." Four scoffed.

"And Four." One's glare moved to Four, who immediately tensed up. "You did good in informing me, but stop needlessly antagonizing Five. You may not approve of her choices, but we aren't children anymore. You have to grow up."

"I...You're right, One. I apologize." She looked down. "I simply wish, like you said, to avoid having our family's name stained with reproval. In the future such a thing could be used against us, especially..." She trailed off, confident that her sisters would understand.

One nodded. "That's exactly why I said it. But I will not have the need to look good sow discord among us. We are a family, and as such we need to remain united."

Just then Tsubaki Shinra approached their table. "Excuse me. One-san?"

"Good morning, Shinra-san." The red-eyed girl greeted back. "How can I help you?"

 _"Kaichou_ would like to know if you're interested in a chess match after the lessons end."

"Chess, uh?" One closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again and regarding Tsubaki with a cool look. "I would love to. Tell Shitori-san I'll come to the Student Council Room at the appointed time."

Tsubaki nodded with a smile. Then she noticed Four giving her a cold glare before looking away: while confused at the sudden change in attitude compared to their first meeting, Tsubaki didn't have the time to stand there and chat. "I will see you later then, One-san." She gave them a small bow before walking away.

"One." Four began with a deep scowl once the bespectacled girl was out of earshot. "You don't have to accept."

"What if I _want_ to?" One calmly replied while going back to eating her food.

"...I don't like the idea of you being alone in a room full of Bats." Almost unconsciously Four raised her left hand and bit down on her thumbnail.

"Nail clippers, Four. You have a whole set of them." One calmly reminded her sister, the other girl blushing slightly when she realized she has fallen back to her childish habit. "Beside, it's just a game. I doubt they are going to try anything weird."

For their sake, she hoped they wouldn't.

* * *

Momo Hanakai was the one to open the door when One, after the last class ended, walked through the school to reach the Student Council Room. "Oh, Song-san. Please, do come in."

One followed the silver-haired girl inside the room, where Sona was already seated behind her desk with a chessboard in front of her. "Thank you for agreeing to my request, Song-san."

"Your challenge piqued my interest." One replied as she sit down on the other side of the desk.

"White or Black?" Sona asked.

"White."

Sona let One began the game, which she did by moving a pawn two spaces ahead without a single hint of hesitation. Two turns later the heiress immediately recognized the opening. "The Spanish Opening? I haven't seen it used often, even if it's one of the more popular openings in chess."

"Oh, so it already has a name? Good to know." The blonde replied while eyeing the board.

Sona's blinked, One's reply having left her stumped. "You...didn't know?"

"I never played chess before now." The nonchalant answer shocked Sona even further. "But I read up the rules: once you memorize the rules of a game, playing it isn't hard."

The bespectacled girl's eyes narrowed. She had seen how One played so far: the pieces were moved with a calm and relaxed, yet firm grasp between the tips of her fingers, and after each of Sona's moves the blonde girl barely waited before making her own. Due to that Sona thought One was also an accomplished chess player and that both of them were testing the waters, but was the blonde's lack of hesitation merely the result of her belief that playing chess would be 'easy' just because she memorized the basic rules?

In her eyes, One had both declared herself the better of the two without prior accomplishments and looked down at chess at the same moment. "You will find out chess is not as simple as that, Song-san."

One's head tilted to the side, her cool expression unchanged. "Is that so?"

* * *

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Five hummed as she took out a folded piece of paper from within her shoe locker.

"What? What?" Two looked above Five's shoulder and gasped. "Is that a love letter, isn't?"

"A little dull-looking for my tastes, but boys are such simple creatures." She flipped it open and read the content, her smile widening as she did so. "'Meet me behind the main building after the lessons end'. Mmh, I see. I had no idea Kiba-sempai was so shy: that's very cute."

"And why, pray tell-" Four said with a dull stare as she held up by the shoulder a sleeping Three. "You think the message is from him? Is there his name on it?"

"No, but of course it's from him, my dear Four. It's the same place and time I proposed him: who else could it be?" Five put the folded note between her breasts and walked away with a wave. "Don't wait for me. Unless-" She stopped and looked over her shoulder, a coy smile on her lips. "You want to watch?"

"Wha-Wha-What!" Four stammered and spluttered, while Two was covering with both hands her blushing face. "You and him doing-Ew! Ew! Never! That's sick! Don't involve us in your perverted hobbies!" Scowling in both anger and embarrassment Four started to push Two and Three away.

"Good luck!" Two shouted out to Five before leaving with her sisters.

Humming happily Five sauntered through the school's premise, imagining all sort of plays she could try with her sempai. "He's so shy, I guess he likes being teased. Oooh, that's perfect: I _love_ teasing!"

However, once she arrived at the designated place she found no one else around. That changed when four second-year girls stepped out from behind the trees, a deep scowl on their faces. "So you came."

"Oh my." Five put a finger over her lips, a puzzled look on her face. "Could it be? Was I mistaken? Kiba-sempai is not shy, but into sixsomes? So daring! It's fast even for-"

"Stop talking!" One of them shouted, a blush on her face. "God, how can you be so dumb? Since you are too stupid to understand anything complicated I'll keep it simple: stay away from Kiba-kun!"

"Mmh?" Five's eyes narrowed slightly, lips curving into a small frown. "Now, why should I listen to you?"

"You'll do it if you know what's good for you." Another girl stepped forward and sneered. "You came to our school, parading your body like a trophy, behaving without an ounce of shame and harassing others. I don't know how it was in your country, but here we don't tolerate people behaving like common whores. So learn your place, _gaijin!"_

"...Oh! I get it!" Looking as if she just realized something obvious Five put a fist over her palm. "This is bullying, right? You went through the trouble of leaving a letter in my shoe locker like a lil' virgin boy hoping for a quickie just for that? That's so quaint it loops back to being hilarious." She began chuckling while approaching the four girls.

That made them even more mad. "I don't think you understand-"

"What I understand-" Five interrupted her. "Is that someone has so little success with the boys that they let their jealousy towards the blessed and successful get them in over their heads." She gave them a glare that managed to drip with condescension while simultaneously undressing them with her eyes. "Trust me, it's not your looks the problem: _you_ are. First, you need to take a nice, long bath and clean every bit of your body. Then get some powder and lipstick on your face, comb your hair... Find a dress that reveals _juuust_ enough, and your inner woman will be set ablaze with passion! Finally, just drop all of that prudishness and outdated social norms and grab a man to invest in some quality time together."

The four second-years were so stunned by Five's speech that they failed to react until the blonde was right in front of them. Reaching out with a hand she cupped and lifted the chin of the girl that called her a _gaijin._ "Why, if you do it right even _I_ may find you alluring." She whispered with a husky voice.

Then she locked lips with the girl.

The girl's eyes widened, a muffled sound of consternation coming out of her throat - before suddenly changing into a pained scream. She retreated in a hurry, hands pressed against her bleeding lips.

Five licked the blood left from when she bit the girl's lips with a slow, obscene gesture, delighting in the group's fear. "Sadly, as you're now I can barely stand to look at you. So be a dear and stay out of my business. Otherwise, next time you will bleed from a different set of lips." She raised two fingers and, keeping them together, wriggle them.

Giggling at the girls' simultaneous wince Five turned around and walked away, thinking of ways to make up for the wasted time.

* * *

The more the game continued the less Sona felt confident about her chances of winning. She considered herself, rightful so, possessor of considerable talent and skill with chess, to the point that she successfully used it to get out of an arranged marriage by beating her suitor and declaring that she would consider only someone who could beat her at chess.

One Song, she was forced to admit, may have all that and more. The blonde's skills grew by leaps and bounds as the game went on, each new move more polished than the precedent, until her initially cautious playing has changed to a highly aggressive one that pushed against Sona's defences while punishing any and all mistakes.

 _'This goes beyond mere talent.'_ Sona thought while stealing a quick glance at One: the blonde kept staring at the board with a cold, almost bored expression, only looking up at Sona when it was her turn to play. Not even once had her composure wavered. _'Is she truly learning on the fly?'_

Sona considered the possibility her opponent has lied about this being her first game, but in truth it didn't fit with what she has been able to gather about the blonde's personality: One was proud, too proud to resort to lies, especially such a poor one. If there wasn't her own pride on the line Sona would think of herself lucky for seeing the blossoming of a true genius.

There was, however, a last chance: for all that she was logical and meticulous, One was reticent to sacrifice her pieces, even when doing so could have been greatly beneficial. It said good things about the blonde's character, and Sona almost felt bad taking advantage of it. Almost.

With a last glance at the current pieces' position she lowered her defenses to launch an attack at One's Queen. It was a high-risk, high-reward gambit that purposely let Sona open to a checkmate, but only if One decide to sacrifice her Queen. Considering what she has seen so far, Sona was confident One would never risk her Queen, thinking of the opening as a trap, and withdrawn. That would allow Sona to push forward and, after a few turns, call a checkmate. "Your turn, Song-san."

One looked down at the board and hummed. Without an ounce of hesitation she reached out to her Queen-

And tossed it into Sona's jaws. "Your turn, Shitori-san."

Sona froze, unable to understand how her trap turned against her so easily.

"What's wrong?" One tilted her head. "The only move you can do is to take my Queen. So why are you hesitating?"

"...It's nothing." Sona gritted her teeth and forced herself to take One's Queen with her Rook. "Just...wondering why you suddenly sacrificed your Queen. I thought you dislike sacrificing your pieces?"

"Of course I do. After all, if the player is a King, the pieces are supposed to represent the soldiers of his army." He gestured to the board. "A ruler must always care about his subjects, otherwise he isn't deserving of his position."

"Then, why?"

"Simple. To obtain victory, sometimes you must sacrifice something else. But if the sacrifice is totally unrelated to you, it just proves you were never worthy of that victory in the first place." One picked up one of the pieces she took from Sona and dangled it between her index finger and thumb above her line of sight. "It's when you're willing to sacrifice something precious to you, that it proves you're worthy."

Sona shivered at the pure, unaltered determination within the look One was giving her. The Devil heiress knew, without a trace of doubt, that the blonde fully believed her own words. Just how she knew that she had no desire to confirm how far she was willing to take those beliefs.

The game continued under heavy silence, Sona mechanically going through the following moves until their natural conclusion. "I believe...victory is yours, Song-san."

"Yes, it would seem so."

Standing up, One made her way towards the exit, ignoring both the other members' shock and Saji's hostility as she passed past them. When she reached the door she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "This has been a most enjoyable game. I'd love to do this again, Shitori-san."

Then, without another word she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Sona clenched her fists. "Tsubaki."

"Yes, Kaichou?"

"Find everything you can about the Song family. Especially One. Also, double-check all information within the dossiers they gave to the school."

There was no way One Song was a normal person. And Sona was going to find out why.

* * *

"Yes, I'm coming back on foot. No need to wait for me Andreas." Ending the call to her butler One put back the cellphone inside her bag and left the school's premise. Walking at a leisurely pace she let her body relax as she enjoyed the tranquility of the mostly deserted streets. Of course, since it was the first time she took that route she made sure to pay attention to the street signals and the traffic lights: it wouldn't do to let herself get lost just because she trusted muscle memory she had yet to develop.

Eventually her path took her closer to a small bridge. Over it a boy and a girl, him wearing the Kuoh uniform and her one she didn't recognize, were facing each other.

"Please go out with me." One heard the girl saying through her keen hearing. She was about to change path, not wishing to disturb what was obviously a private affair, when her equally keen nose caught two scents: one was that of the boy she met during her first day at Kuoh.

The other-

 _Fire. Ash. Screaming._

Ruthlessly suppressing the resurfacing memories she looked at the girl with a carefully neutral glare, only the eyes betraying her inner fury. As she watched the girl playing, rather poorly at that, the part of a heartstruck fool One's lips parted and uttered two words: "Fallen Angel."

It seemed the time to lie down was over.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Now give an applause to our next guests, the Dancing-"_

"Die."

 _"Oh Rosalita, luz de mi corazon-"_

"I'm going to puke."

 _"I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle."_

"Now we're talking." Zero lowered the remote control. She was sprawled out all over the couch in front of the living room's 85-inch TV screen: beside the bandages her only pieces of clothes were a sport bra and a pair of women's shorts. Five bottles of beer, four empty and one half-full, were lined up on the small table next to where her head was resting on the couch's arm.

"We're home!" Two called out as she opened the door and walked inside, followed by Three and Four. "Ah! Big Sis Zero! Are you drinking again? It's not healthy!"

"I'm bored our of my fucking mind here. Give me a break." She replied. "Can't go out without being babysitted, can't train and One blocked the adult channels. Getting smashed is the only thing that makes this tolerable. If you take away even that I'll snap and strangle someone."

"No need to go that far, Big Sister." Four sighed as Three slouched to the couch and sat down on the opposite side before falling asleep. "It's merely a rest period to make sure there are no complications, and it's almost over now. You hurt yourself for our sake, so let us take care of you now."

"That's right! We're all grown-ups now, no need to shoulder everything by yourself again." Two smiled to Zero as she sat down on the fluffy, soft carpet and rested her back against the couch.

Zero scoffed. "I was that kind of person? One thing that's going to change for sure."

"You were and still are the best big sister ever." Four declared with absolute conviction. Approaching the only space left on the couch she stopped when she realized it was occupied by Zero's sprawled leg. When the white-haired girl noticed her younger sister pausing with an awkward expression she rolled her eyes and pulled back her leg.

Smiling Four sat down all prim and proper - only to almost yelp when Zero straightened her leg again and rested it on the brunette's lap. With an embarrassed face, and a small smile, Four began watching the film together with her sisters.

"One and Five?" Zero asked a few minutes later.

"Shitori-san asked One to play a chess match and she accepted." Two answered. "Five, hear this, received a love letter and remained behind to meet the sender!"

"She thought it was the _sempai_ she molested today." Four drily added.

"It's Five. Nothing new there." Zero's reply was utterly nonchalant, his sentiments on the matter expressed perfectly.

The blonde returned just as the credits began to play. "I'm back!" She cheerfully declared, a plastic bag hanging from her left hand. A sly smile spread on her lips when she saw the four girls gathered on the couch. "What a perfect set-up~! One?"

"She's not back yet." Zero replied, looking at her out of her peripheral vision. "So, another notch on your belt?"

"I wish." Five pouted sadly. "It was just a silly prank. Ah, how disappointing. That's why I made a detour to pick up the perfect cure for my wounded heart." From the bag she took out a few DVD cases and showed them to her sisters with a large grin. "Who want to try Japan's famous _hentai_ together with me?"

"Porn? Just what I needed to improve my mood. Set it up." Zero set the leg previously dangling off the couch over the one still on Four's lap and crossed them.

"B-Big Sister Zero!" Four protested. Two was blushing but made no move to leave, while Three had woken up and seemed interested too. "Look, there are so many things wrong with that I don't even know where to-"

"Four." The white-haired girl interrupted her, eyes locked on the screen as Five inserted one DVD inside the player. "Shut up or leave."

"Uh..." Four wriggled her legs, but Zero showed no intention of moving her own legs. "Big Sister...can you move your le-"

"No."

"Uuuh..." The brown-haired girl mumbled some more as Five sat down on the carpet like Two and the video started. "I guess...I'll stay then. I have no other choice after all. It's, it's not like I am interested or anything..."

"Four."

"Shutting up now."

* * *

She did. But not for long.

"It doesn't fit! It can't possibly fit!" Four peeked between her fingers before yelping and closing her eyes again.

"Oh it fits. It fits alright." Five exclaimed in delight.

"Stretching capacity exceeds estimated elasticity of involved muscles. Possibly the result of extensive training through separated increasing stages or application of muscle relaxants. Sufficient lubrication to reduce friction to a minimum does seem to be another fundamental component." Three commented at a rapid pace. "What about contraction? Even just a little amount would invalidate the approach. Can training overcome that, or is it a specific biological quirk?"

"I'm home. Everyone, I-" One, after walking inside the room, stopped at the sight that greeted her and put a hand over her eyes. Her next words were uttered with a tone of barely restrained frustration. "I thought I blocked the adult channels."

Five waved a hand without turning around, an empty DVD case held between her fingers. "Don't worry, I used my allowance."

"And of course, your first thought was to watch it in the living room instead of the privacy of your own room." One glared at the blonde's back.

"Teh-he."

One sighed, reminding herself that was just how Five is. She spent a few seconds staring at the screen before denying it even happened and continuing with her planned speech. "This is not time for recreation. There are _Fallen Angels_ in this city."

Like a switch that has been flicked all five Intoners stood up on their knees and turned to face One. Two, Three and Five had a serious and focused look on their faces, Four was sneering in disgust and Zero was baring her teeth. "Those fuckers found us already?" The white-haired girl snarled, a certain eagerness for violence mixed within the quickly mounting fury.

One shook her head. "I don't think so. We are not their objective." She began to walk away, the others standing up and following her. "I saw one of them, disguised as a student of another school, approaching one of Kuoh students under the pretest of a love confession. The wench's acting, while abysmal, was enough to deceive the boy."

"Disgusting Crows. Bats I can tolerate, there are always a few rats within a city, but this calls for pest control." Four and her sisters walked inside the elevator. As the doors closed and the metal box began to move down she addressed One. "Did you recognize the Kuoh student?"

"I believe you have heard of a certain Perverted Trio?"

Four balked at the news, while Five seemed honestly distraught. "The poor thing, we have to save him. They always show such honest appreciation for my beautiful breasts, it would make me sad if they stop."

"Does it matter?" Zero scoffed, nails pressing against the bandages covering her palms as she clenched her fists. "Crows never move alone. We follow the bitch, find where they live and murder them all. Easy as taking a piss."

"Of course Elder Sister. Before that, however, I think it would beneficial for us to capture and interrogate her." With a 'ping' the elevator stopped and the doors opened. The six sisters left the metal box and entered what looked like a laboratory in full activity. Men in white clothes and a metal mask over their heads stopped what they were doing and bowed at the group's passage.

"My ladies." One of them greeted the sisters, his more elaborated mask suggesting a position of importance. "How can we serve?"

One crossed her arms. "Have they arrived? The weapons we requested?"

"Yes, just now." The man led the sisters to a long table, a series of metal cases resting on its surface. "The seller is a mysterious fellow, never contacting us directly, but the merchandise is of the highest quality. He, or she I suppose, seems to have a predilection for weapons which are cursed or have a bloody history."

"It is irrelevant as long as they're effective. Where's mine?" After the man gestured to one specific case One approached it. With two quick flicks she unlocked the latches and opened the case.

"Ah yes." She smiled at the content. "This will do nicely."

* * *

Issei Hyodou was standing in the middle of the shopping district, looking as giddy as a schoolboy on his first date. Which, coincidentally, perfectly described his current situation: he was giddy, he was a schoolboy and he was waiting for a girl so that they could go on a date, the first one in his entire life so far.

Just yesterday a girl confessed to him. Her name was Yuuma Amano: she had long, shiny black hair and stunning violet eyes. What's more, she was drop dead gorgeous and had large breasts. In short, she was everything Issei looked for in a girlfriend.

For a guy like Issei, who was hated by the girls at his school for his perverted habits and whose sexual experiences so far were only with his right hand (some times, with his left), it was like a dream coming true. At first he actually thought it was a prank, or that Yuuma was forced to ask him out due to a penalty game, but after they agreed to meet on a school-free day for their first date and he introduced her to his friends to brag those doubts melt away like snow under the summer sun, replaced with the sort of blissful happiness that only people who were gifted with a miracle could experience. That was how important having a girlfriend was for the boy called Issei Hyodou.

He was so nervous about the date he brushed his teeth dozens of times since the previous night, he bought new clothes and even arrived at the meeting spot three hours ahead of the appointed time. While waiting he ended up counting the girls with glasses walking past in front of him.

His less than pure contemplations were brought to an end when someone addressed him. "Young boy, please take this." It was a short young woman wearing a red cosplay costume based on a bat. She had a stack of leaflets under one arm, and was holding out one of them to Issei with a smile.

"Uh, sure." Issei, unable to deny the request of a cute girl, took the leaflet. As the woman left to hand out more of those leaflets he looked at the one in his hand: it was an occult-looking thing with an anime-like magic circle and the sentence [Your dream will be granted!] written below. Honestly, it was either a scam or the advertisement for some weird cult thing.

He looked around for a trashcan to throw it away, but before he could do so he spotted Yuuma approaching and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

* * *

 _"One?"_

With a casual gesture the blonde girl tapped her left earring to activate the concealed transmitter and brought the cup in front of her lips to hide their movements. "What is it, Four?"

 _"The girl that gave a leaflet to Hyodou-san is not human, right? I can see them from here, they have the kind of magic circles Bats use on them."_

"Most likely a familiar." From inside the bar she was sitting in One watched Hyodou and the disguised Fallen have a brief exchange before leaving. "I suppose that's one way to test the waters for new clients."

"New innocents to corrupt you mean. Are we letting it do so with impunity?" Four's tone was dripping with contempt as she observed the couple's movements through a spyglass from a nearby rooftop.

 _"Doing something now would result in the Devils searching for the culprit and possibly interfere with the operation."_ One replied. Then, after a few seconds she added: _"Wait at least until we have captured our target."_

 _"You know, I was thinking."_ Five entered the conversation. _"What if she is planning nothing bad, and just wants some virgin dick? There are some people who are into that."_

"I kind of, uh, agree with Five?" Two added while blending among the clients of the clothing store Issei and Yuuma were visiting. "I mean, they seem to be having fun..."

 _"It's an act! An act!"_ Four insisted. _"The only interaction Crows have with humans is when they take advantage of them! You say sex, I say rape! As an ally of Justice I can't let it happen!"_

 _"Immediately jumping to rape? Just what kind of scenarios were you fantasizing about Four?"_ Zero wondered.

 _"B-B-Big Sister Zero!"_ Four squealed. _"I'm not thinking about obscene stuff, just considering the worst case scenario!"_

 _"Right."_ The eldest Intoner replied. _"So between death, torture and many other nasty things you consider rape the worst case scenario. I wonder what that says about your priorities?"_

 _"Big Sis Zero's just being grumpy again Four."_ Two quickly reassured the brown-haired girl after she started sputtering in denial. _"She doesn't mean it."_

"Oh, but I agree with my lovely big sister." Five giggled while trying a bracelet. "Mmh, aren't you lovely? You pair perfectly with the dress I bought yesterday. I'm definitely taking you home with me."

"Well, excuse me for being less than thrilled at the idea of spending who knows how long just watching those two idiots going around doing vomit-inducing mushy stuff while smiling like retards." Sitting within the limo Zero switched to the camera of another drone, grimacing when the laptop's screen showed Yuuma giggling at something Issei said.

"When I am open, I am not open. When I am closed, I am not closed. ...What am I?" Three, who was sitting in front of Zero with another laptop, suddenly asked.

"A restaurant with an asshole manager." Zero immediately replied.

 _"Can we get back to the task at hand?"_ One tried very hard to not make it sound like she was pleading.

* * *

The date, in Issei's opinion, went rather well all things considered. He and Yuuma went to a clothing store, and then looked at decorations for their rooms. For lunch, they ate at a family restaurant just like how normal high school students would. She looked like she enjoyed it...at least, he thought she did. She pretty much had a smile on her face from start to finish.

As the evening approached they arrived at the fountain in the local park. It was like a romantic scene one would see in visual novels, especially with the sun setting over the horizon and painting the sky a lovely orange.

"It sure was fun today." Yuuma smiled at Issei while standing in front of the fountain. "Hey, Ise-kun."

"What is it, Yuuma-chan?" Issei eagerly replied, a hundred and more naughty possibilities running through his mind.

"There is something I want to do to celebrate our first date. Can you listen to my wish?"

He didn't even hesitate, his heart beating so fast it felt like it was soon going to jump out of his chest. "W-What is the w-wish you want?"

Yuuma kept smiling. Then, as if it was the most natural thing she asked: "Will you die for me?"

* * *

 _"Bullseye."_

 _"I'm going."_

 _"Waste that fucker, One."_

 _"Of course, Elder Sister."_

* * *

"The short time I spent with you was fun. It was like playing house with a little child." Yuuma coldly purred, black feathery wings proudly displayed on her back.

With a loud humming sound a spear made of light appeared in the black-haired girl's right hand. "Alas, all things come to an end." She reared her arm back, aiming straight at Issei's heart, before hurling the spear with all her strength.

There was a whooshing sound, followed by a wet squelch. Hot, almost scalding blood splattered over Issei's body and face. A few drops ended on his lips, and he could taste the sweet, metallic taste. He wondered if that is how death tastes.

However... "It...doesn't hurt?" He looked down at himself, but saw no injuries. "What's goin-"

Yuuma screeched in agony. Looking up Issei saw her holding the bloody stump that was once her right hand, the fingers scattered around her feet in a puddle of blood. The fragments of the shattered light spear briefly hovered in the air before vanishing.

"Such arrogance. Thinking that you could toy with humans as you like." It took Issei a few seconds to recognize the approaching girl as One Song. She wasn't wearing the Kuoh uniform, but a white dress with long gloves that fully covered her arms, leggings and boots. Around her shoulders she also wore a small white cape with black fur linings and two small black pon-pons hanging on the front by strings.

The whooshing sound returned and One swept her right arm. The next instant she was holding what Issei could only describe as a giant metal ring with two bars crossing in the center, small cross-like decorations set at the four ends where the bars were connected with the ring.

"WHO?! WHO DARES!?" Yuuma screamed in animalistic fury. She glared at One with a look of pure hate. "You filthy human! You dare hurt me, a mighty Fallen Angel? Pathetic worms like you have no right to even lay their eyes on a superior being such as-"

"Silence beast. Dogs don't bark at their betters." One coldly interrupted Yuuma without even looking at her. Instead she moved forward until she was right in front of Issei. "Hyodou-san." She addressed the still stunned boy with a gentle but firm tone. "I would appreciate it if you were to keep your distance. What is about to happen here will be dangerous to one such as yourself."

"Don't ignore me!" Forming another light spear in her left hand Yuuma hurled it at One. "Die, you filthy worm!"

"As you can see." One nonchalantly commented while swinging her weapon behind her, shattering the spear without even looking at it. She slowly turned back to the Fallen, her eyes burning with a cold fury. "Filthy crows such as this one like to attack those who cannot protect themselves."

Snarling Yuuma flapped her wings and soared into the air, intending to bombard the bitch with light spears from a safe distance until she was reduced to a bloody smear on the ground.

One opened her mouth and hummed a single, wordless note. The sound had an otherworldly feeling to it, and Issei could almost sense it washing over his skin, a wet hotness that made every one of his nerves tingle.

It was the most beautiful thing Issei has ever heard.

The next instant One dashed forwards, moving so fast all Issei could see was a white blur, before jumping and slamming into Yuuma. There was a sound of breaking bones as they fell on the stone monument in the middle of the fountain, shattering it and splattering the water all around. The Fallen Angel coughed blood before One's left hand grabbed her hair and slammed her head down. The Intoner repeated the motion two times before letting go and standing up, the body of the concussed Yuuma laying in front of her.

"More trouble that she is worth of..." One grumbled under her breath while glaring at the wet parts of her clothes with annoyance.

Only then did she looked back at Issei, who has fallen on his butt in shock at the impossible feats he witnessed. "I don't...Yuuma-chan...but...Song-san, what is..."

"Issei Hyodou." One's tone demanded absolute attention. "You are, understandably, confused. But the truth is, you have been dragged into something that no normal person should be involved with. This is all you need to know."

She gestured to the prone form of Yuuma. "This creature isn't human. She used you for her own benefit. You heard what she said: for her, the whole date was a game. She toyed with your emotions and intended to kill you since the very beginning. This is the kind of creature she is."

With every word the fear in Issei's heart slowly vanished, replaced by nothingness and a feeling of hurt that made him felt as if Yuuma truly pierced him with a spear.

"However, you have nothing more to fear. I will make sure she and the rest of her ilk never threaten you and those you care about ever again." Grabbing one of Yuuma's leg One began to walk away, dragging the limp body behind her. "For your own sake, it's better you forget everything that happened today."

Issei watched her leave, too overwhelmed to do or say anything.

* * *

"You really did a number on her." Zero commented when One dropped Yuuma's body in front of the limo's open door. "Didn't you say you wanted to interrogate her?"

"As long as she can talk, the state of her body doesn't matter." One replied. "Three, stop the blood: I don't want it staining the car. Two, after Three is done tie and put the Fallen into the trunk."

Humming Three set to work, while Two retrieved the special restraining equipment from within the trunk. One looked around and frowned. "Where's Four?"

"I'm here! I'm here!" The brown-haired girl ran into view, stopping only when she was in front of One. "Sorry for the delay, it took more time than I thought."

One glanced down at the blood still dripping from the knuckles of Four's combat bracers. By the smell, she immediately identified it as not belonging to a human being.

That was all it took for her to decide to let it pass. "It's not big deal. Let's go."

* * *

"One. Problem." Three suddenly said.

"What kind of problem, Three?" One asked after putting back her chakram into its case. She was satisfied with the test run: the weapon was balanced, sharp enough to cut through bones without issues and it could destroy a Fallen Angel's light spear without getting even a single scratch in return. As a starting weapon it was perfect.

The purple-haired girl held up a metal cuff and Yuuma's handless arm. "It keeps sliding off. Not tight enough."

" _That's_ the problem?" Zero snorted before looking around the small room. Seeing a locker she walked up to and opened it. "Let's see…Why do we have medieval torture-probably Five...This will do."

Returning with a small metal spike in her right hand Zero kneeled next to the Fallen's body and grabbed the stump with her left one.

Then she shoved the spike through what remained of the wrist. The pain woke up Yuuma, but her screams were quickly silenced by Four stomping on her face. "Shut up Crow! Don't distract Big Sister Zero!"

Holding the trashing limbs in a vice grip Zero pushed the spike until it was halfway through the wrist. She closed the handcuff under it and gave a tug to confirm it held. "There. Problem solved."

One pushed a button next to the door. The hidden mechanism came to life and pulled up the chain connecting both of Yuuma's handcuffs until her equally bound feet were dangling twenty centimeters about the ground.

"You-! Filthy-!" The Fallen shrieked, the pain and humiliation making hard for her to think. She tried to form a few light spears around her, for she was skilled enough she didn't need her hands to toss them. There was a zapping sound, and Yuuma screamed as her neck was suddenly overtaken with pain. It broke her concentration, and only when it subsided did she noticed there was a collar around her neck.

"Don't bother: that collar was designed to detect when you are about to use your Light powers and electrocute you when it happened." One calmly explained, Zero, Three and Four on her sides. "Fallen Angel. You will tell me your real name, why did you try to kill Issei Hyodou, where your base is and how many people it contains."

Yuuma spat at One, the spit landing on her face. Without breaking eye contact with the Fallen One took out a handkerchief and calmly cleaned her cheek. "Three, she's all yours. Four, when she decides to talk write down what she says."

"I understand, Big Sister One. I'll make sure she leaves nothing out." Four replied as One and Zero left the room and closed the soundproof door.

Meanwhile Three had moved behind Yuuma and was holding one of her wings, pushing back the feathers to gaze at the flesh below with an analytical look. "The wings of a Fallen Angel are a peculiar thing. As are those of an Angel and a Devil. It's not real flesh, but concentrated spiritual aura dense enough to create limbs. Why they exist? They're not aerodynamic, yet you can't fly without manifesting them. A foci to regulate the flying function and make it instinctual? Peculiar indeed."

"Don't touch me!" Yuuma trashed. "Don't touch me you-Aaaagh!"

Three stopped twisting the wing, watching the blood dripping from where her fingers sunk into the wing's membrane. "Simulation of regular body functions is impressive. This requires a more in-depth analysis."

Three reached to the side, opened a drawer and, much to Yuuma's growing horror, pulled out a surgical buzzsaw. The Fallen's protests were ignored as the purple-haired girl put on a set of googles, turned on the device and grabbed Yuuma's wing with her free hand.

"Wait Three!" The Intoner turned off the buzzsaw and looked at Four with a puzzled look. "That's not right!"

Yuuma sighed in relief, not noticing Four searching for something in another drawer. "So at least one of you has a minimum of common sense. Free me now and-guh!" The rest of her words were choked out by Four showing a mouth ball into her open mouth and fastening it behind the head.

"There." Four nodded in satisfaction, removing her gloves and dropping them in a trashcan. "You don't want her screams distracting you."

"Thank you Four." Three nodded in gratitude. "Music?"

"Sure." She moved in front of a piece of furniture with a DVD player and looked at the selection. "Bach...Mozart...Beethoven?"

There was a brief mutter of agreement before the buzzsaw was turned on again, following by a grinding sound and a muffled scream. Ignoring the last two Four put the DVD into the player and selected the right track.

As the notes of Ode to Joy filled the room Four took a step back and, with a beatific smile, began to mimic an orchestra conductor. "Aaah, yes. This is, without a doubt, one of the pinnacle of human culture! Just this melody alone cleanses me of the stress from all the eyesores I had to bear with today."

* * *

"Please stay still Lady Zero."

With a small pair of scissors the doctor removed the knot tying the bandages together. Holding up the white-haired woman's arm with one hand he dip the other one in a bowl filled with saline solution and gently rubbed it over the bandages to thoroughly soak them. Once that was done he began to slowly remove the gauze. "Impressive. Your wounds healed perfectly, not even scars or discolorations remained." He commented once Zero's pale, flawless skin was exposed. "An Intoner's recovery ability is truly remarkable."

"Yeah, yeah." Zero rolled her eyes with a scowl. "Hurry up, I don't have all night."

"I understand if you're impatient Elder Sister, but there is no need to rush." One said without looking up from the book she was reading.

"It wasn't you that had to walk around like a mummy for a month, One." The older Intoner shot back. "It hurt like a bitch at the start, and the bandages itched even more. You would had it worse."

One paused in the middle of turning a page, the thin sheet of paper held between thumb and index finger. "That... I cannot deny." She finished turning the page and continued reading.

Meanwhile the doctor removed the rest of the bandages. But just as he reached to the last patch, the one around Zero's head, he had his hands slapped away. "Don't bother." She scowled. "I hate looking at it anyway."

The man looked at One, but she just shook her head. He stepped back and bowed. "As you wish, Lady Zero."

Rolling her shoulders Zero approached the table with the weapon cases, heedless of her undressed state. Opening one she took out her own weapon: it was a medium sized, one-edged black cutlass, with a circular hand-guard open on one side and white decorations representing flowers, wings and the sun.

Holding the sword with her right hand Zero made a few practice swings before suddenly thrusting forward, as if impaling an invisible adversary through the heart. "A little gaudy for my tastes." She rested the edge on the table's border before violently jerking downward, the blade leaving behind a deep gouge. "But it will do."

One felt rolling her eyes was too undignified, so she settled to looking at her sister's back in disapproval. For all that she complained about Four and Five, Zero could be just as melodramatic and more when it strikes her fancy.

The elevator's doors opened, Four stepping out of it. "The Crow cawed a lot. Like you asked I wrote it all down."

One took the notebook Four was holding out to her, noting it had a lot of filled pages. "Can you sum it up? Just the relevant parts."

"Of course Big Sister One. The Crow is apparently a minor leader among her kind: she has three other Crow underlings and fifty human agents, all Exiled Exorcists. They all work for the Grigori." The brown-haired girl began. "Their marching orders were to come to Japan, take residence in the abandoned church on the town's outskirts and put Issei Hyodou under observation. Apparently he had a powerful but still dormant Sacred Gear inside him."

"Only observe? Why did she try to kill him then?"

"Their orders were updated a few days before: the probability that the Gear would awaken and drive its host insane was higher than expected, so immediate termination of the host was recommended."

One frowned. "...This makes no sense. Grigori collects Sacred Gears, and why would they care if an unrelated human goes mad because of its own? Unless…" She seemed to ponder something for a few seconds. "What else?"

"In a few days they're going to receive a new member: Asia Argento, an ex-nun from the Catholic Church. She has a Sacred Gear called Twilight Healing that can heal all wounds, but she was cast out by the Vatican when she accidentally healed a Bat." Four scoffed. "She made a mistake, true, but they should have just taught her how to not do it again instead of abandoning her. Clearly such disproportionate punishment has been wanted by those bigot Pigeons."

"All wounds? So it's not restricted by race? It must be quite powerful then." The blonde girl commented. "Why send her here, and not the Grigori's headquarters?"

"The Crow confessed she planned to take Argento's Sacred Gear as her own. She thought it would get her a promotion." The brown-haired girl scoffed in disdain.

"It could have. That's one more reason to stop it from ever happening again." One declared with absolute conviction. "They reside in the abandoned church... How they communicate among each other when not physically present?"

"Surprisingly they have smartphones, custom models with some spells woven into them. Don't worry, I had the Crow clear all the security checks." Four took out from her pocket a bloodstained cellphone sealed in a plastic bag and offered it to One. "Sorry for the blood Big Sister, I told Three to stop for a moment but she didn't listen to me."

"Nothing new there. Don't let it bother you." While taking the phone One noticed her sister's nails had doubled in length since the last time she saw. "Four, your nails-"

The brown-haired girl suddenly pulled back her hand, causing the phone to fall to the ground. Her face red she muttered a quick apology before leaving the room in all haste, likely to shut herself inside her bathroom and clip her nails until they were a normal length.

One looked at her sister's retreating back with a sorrowful gaze. It pained her to see Four handling her 'growing trait' so poorly, but there wasn't an easy solution - she couldn't tell her to stop using her hands. All she could do was boost Four's self-esteem by giving her important tasks that One knew she could accomplish without problems. Four was smart and meant well, but she was also poor at dealing with unforeseen circumstances: they caused her to panic and shut down - or lash out.

"An abandoned church, uh?" Zero mused, unfazed by Four's episode. "We close all doors and clear up the place?"

"That's the general idea." One looked at both the notebook and the cellphone. "Give me some time to write a convincing text that will make them all gather together."

"Do we have time for dinner? I'm famished."

"Today is Two's turn, right? If so she should have already started." It explained the blue-haired girl's disappearance when they returned home.

"I'm back!" Five sauntered into the underground facility, her arms full of shopping bags. "What did I miss?"

"Five." One greeted her sister before looking down at the bags with a frown. "Going by those brands, I am quite sure all that stuff is way over your allowance."

"Don't you worry." The taller blonde giggled and winked. "I persuaded the manager to give me a hefty discount."

"Did you blow him?" Zero asked.

"No, he turned out to be more of a back door guy."

"Ah! Did you tell him your age?"

"Right as he came!"

"...Can you, at least, not do this in front of me?" One pleaded as her oldest and younger sisters guffawed like idiots.

* * *

"You know, I am genuinely curious about something." A man with short white hair and red eyes suddenly said. He was wearing white clerical clothes with a grey jacket over them. Despite being dressed like a priest there was something in his eyes that belonged to a wild, rabid beast.

"And what would it be, Sellzen?" A middle-aged man, dressed in a trench coat and fedora hat, asked back in annoyance.

Freed gestured to the fifty and more people, himself included, assembled inside the abandoned church. Most of them were fellow Exiled Exorcists. "Why the fuck did the Boss Lady asked everyone to gather here? And for that matter, where the fuck is she?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be here." Dohnaseek shook his head. "Raynare was supposed to return after accomplishing her mission."

"Maybe she decided to 'extend' her date?" A voluptuous woman wearing a skimpy dress smiled lasciviously, the fingers of one hand playing with her long hair. "Give the boy a taste of paradise before ending his life?"

"No way! Raynare can't stand virgins!" A young blonde girl dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit laughed. "I bet she spent the last hours torturing him, and now she wants to show us the result!"

Freed looked way too much excited at Mittelt's theory, while Dohnaseek and Kalawarner grimaced: they had no problems killing if those were their orders, but straight-out torture wasn't really up their alley. And while Raynare loved to sometimes play with her prey, it was mostly physiological torture before ending it with one blow.

The large doors of the cathedral creaked open. "Fucking finally. Raynare, care to-" Dohnaseek turned towards the doors, but narrowed his eyes when he saw who just walked inside. "Who are you?"

One didn't reply, she merely walked forward until she was right in front of the first row of pews, her chakram hanging from her back. On her right side was Zero, dressed in revealing white clothes with a cape over her left arm, while on her left side was Four, the green military jacket hanging from her shoulders like a cape held up by a pair of aviator googles.

On Zero's right side were Three and Two: the purple-haired girl had a pair of large scissors in each hand, while the bluenette was armed with a large sword resembling an oversized kitchen knife, her upper body bare save for a blue bra.

Finally, on Four's left side was Five: the blonde has changed into a black jacket that ended at her waist, revealing golden shorts so small they were practically underwears, her arms and legs covered with golden-lined armor. On her back she carried a spear shaped like a cross.

When the last of her sisters was inside Two closed the doors. Without looking away from the people on the other side of the building, some of which were already pointing their weapons at her, One reached to the small pouch on her back and withdrew the phone they took from the Fallen Angel, holding it up for their opponents to see.

"That...it's Raynare's!" Kalawarner growled, a spear of light forming in her hand. "Where is she?"

"One leg is inside the freezer." Zero shrugged. "Dunno about the rest."

"So that's why. It wasn't Raynare that wrote that message." It was not a question, but a statement. Dohnaseek lifted the tip of his fedora, revealing dark blue eyes staring hard at the six sisters.

With a loud hum red light covered the doors and the windows, magically sealing them. "And now we're locked here with you." Dohnaseek continued after a brief look around. "I assume this is when, in your plans, we beg for mercy, right?"

"No. Your lives are forfeit, Crows." One replied dispassionately. Ignoring the look of hatred from the Fallen Angels she looked at the Exiled Exorcists. "All of you. I don't know your stories. What I _do_ know, is that you're here because you lost faith in the Christian Church, its angels and a God that doesn't bother answering your prayers anymore. Some of you didn't have a choice...but let me ask you this."

She raised a hand before dramatically lowering it in the three Fallen Angels' direction. "Do you truly believe that Fallen Angels, just because they have being chased away like you, would treat you better? Do you truly believe that a creature kicked out of Heaven, the place where all virtuous men and woman are said to reside, for shaming its literal God-given duty would be able to sympathize with you? The answer is no!" She clenched her fist, her words oozing passion and charisma. "They cannot! Because _they're not human!_ Like all supernatural creatures they look down at humanity! Consider us mere _cattle!_ Right now you are but tools in their eyes, tools they will not hesitate to break and cast aside if it's convenient for them!"

"Oh fuck off! You bitch!" Mittelt sneered. "You kill Raynare, come here to preach like you're so damn important and talk shit about us as if we aren't even present! I'm gonna ram a spear up your ass, to keep company to the one already there!"

"Wait a minute!" Freed raised a hand to stop Mittelt. "I want to see where they're going with this shit. Hey you, the gal in white. Not the one dressed like a slut, the titless one. I get you don't like our Fallen friends here, but what about us humans?"

"Abandon the Grigori. Join us." One crossed her arms. "Together, we will create a world that belongs only to us humans."

"Refuse-" Zero rolled her neck. "And none of you will leave this place alive."

"A 'Do-or-Die' deal, uh? You know what, I have a better one." Freed grinned like a maniac, his tongue hanging out. "I'll join whatever it is you have going there if you let me fuck you into my personal cumdump. Pretty sweet deal, don't you think so?"

"Sure thing. Let me make a counter-offer though." Zero's smile had more in common with a shark than a human being. "I cut your arms, cut your legs and then keep you as my personal meat dildo. Interested?"

There was a brief moment of silence.

"...I think I'm in love." Freed chuckled before whipping out a gun and shooting at Zero.

The white-haired woman tilted her head, the projectile only ending up cutting part of the bandages around her face. "Do you always shoot the girls you confess to?" She drawled.

"You're the first, so maybe?" He laughed.

"Whatever." With her free hand Zero reached to the bandages. With a single pull she ripped them off, shaking her head before going back to glare at the white-haired man.

"The fuck?" Freed blinked in disbelief. "Is that a fucking _flower?"_

Where Zero's right eye should have been there was instead a flower growing out of her eyesocket: it had five pinkish petals, with in the center six filaments surrounding a style that ended in a ring.

"No wonder you were covering it!" Mittelt laughed in childish cruelty. "No one would want to come close to a freak like you otherwise!"

"Would you all shut up and start being serious?!" Kalawarner shouted. "Subdue them, they need to tell us what have they done with Raynare! Dohnaseek, tell-" She turned to her companion, but paused. Her next words were full of concern. "Dohnaseek?"

The male Fallen Angel was as pale as a corpse, all the blood drained from his face. He was staring with wide, panicked eyes at Zero's flower. "No! No!" His gaze switched to the other sisters, his body trembling more and more as realization sunk in. "This is not possible!"

"Dohnaseek, what's happening?"

"RUN!" He shouted, his voice desperate. "ALL OF YOU NEED TO RUN! NOW!"

"Run?" Mittelt was appalled. "They're just humans!"

"THEY'RE NOT HUMANS! THEY'RE _INTONERS!"_

"Too late numskulls!"

The six Intoners **sang.**

The sisters lit up in a bonfire of light and sound, each of their auras a different color: pink for Zero, white for One, blue for Two, purple for Three, green for Four and yellow for Five. The left eye of each sister shone like a miniature star, mysterious glyphs etching themselves inside their pupils while, save for Zero, skin flaked out of their foreheads to reveal roman numbers, each one corresponding to the girl's name.

It was power unlike anything those assembled have ever felt before: neither demonic nor holy, it washed over them with a sense of profound euphoria that seeped into their very souls. It was glorious, beautiful beyond belief: in a word, divine.

For Dohnaseek, it was the sound of his own death approaching. "ATTACK! ATTACK!"

He didn't know if the Exiled Exorcists heard him of if it was their own gut feeling acting up, but most of them took out their guns and fire at the sisters, each bullet made of Light energy Dohnaseek and the other Fallen Angels donated over the course of several days.

Six spherical barriers, each one a different color, came into existence in front of the six sisters and deflected the hail of projectiles. They then shattered, the shockwave making everyone stumble before Zero and the others, still encased in the otherworldly aura, soared through the air and crashed into the crowd of exorcists.

Zero landed on the shoulders of a tall man, pushing him on his knees even as her sword stabbed straight through his spine. She swept the weapon to the side, splattering blood over the chest and face on an unlucky fellow, before slowly standing up and turning to look at a still calm Freed, a cocky grin on her lips.

"Oh yeah. This is the hardest I've been in ages." He took out a sword hilt from his jacket and pushed a button, a blade of light coming out of it.

The next moment Zero and Freed's swords drew arcs in the air, cutting through a few people before clashing against each other in a shower of sparks and motes of light.

"Really? What about switching 'swords' then? That'd make things easier for me." Zero pushed, the white-haired man crumbling under the girl's superior strength.

But Freed was not considered a prodigy for nothing: disengaging immediately he ran around Zero while firing his gun. The Intoner's cutlass flashed through the air, deflecting all bullets before spinning around, slashing open the throat of the exorcist that tried to ambush her from behind.

Displaying superhuman agility Zero jumped through the crowd of exorcists in pursuit of Freed, her movements so graceful it was like she was instead flying. The more she killed the largest the grin on her face grew, until she was baring her teeth.

Baring them like a beast drunk on blood.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation? Kill them!" Kalawarner shouted before cursing when Three was upon her, the purple haired girl's sleepy expression betraying the swiftness and precision of her movements.

The Fallen Angels blocked the scissors with a Light spear. Three clenched her hands, severing the spear with the scissors' blades before stabbing them into Kalawarner. "You have nice hair." The Intoner whispered while moving closer to the other woman. "But features are all wrong. Too long, too angular. It's not cute, it's seductive. Dolls should be cute. I'll have to re-arrange your facial bones into something more appropriate. It will be good practice. Maybe I'll replace your skin too, natural one requires too much maintenance and doesn't last long."

"W-What are you talking about?! You crazy bitch!" Ignoring the pain in her chest Kalawarner swung her first at the Intoner.

 **"Armisael."**

The next moment the Fallen Angel's limb halted in mid-motion, pain blossoming over dozens of points. Looking at it Kalawarner could see the light glancing off dozens of threads so thin they were almost invisible, the strings wrapped tightly around her arm and cutting through the flesh like razor-sharp blades. They were coming out of a golden ring floating in midair, runes of unknown design running within the edges.

Three's vocalization reached a crescendo, more threads coming out of the expanding ring and binding the exorcists that were coming to Kalawarner's help.

"Lady Kalawarner! Shit!" One of the exorcists surrounding Five cursed. "First Lady Raynare and now Lady Kalawarner! How dare you! I don't know who you are, but I'm not going to let you do as you please anymore!"

"Yeah! I can't die yet, not until I fulfill my dream of sleeping with Kalawarner!" Another exorcist boasted.

"I... I want Dohnaseek..." A third one admitted.

"What? This is a hell of a time to come out, man!"

"No need to feel embarrassed, while I prefer men I have absolutely nothing against people with different sexual orientations: men with men, women with women...truly, why should gender matters when it comes to feeling good?" Five was rubbing her thighs together, through that did nothing to weaken her stance. "Talking about feeling good! Hearing my sisters talking earlier made me so hot and bothered...it's a waterfall, really. You're still in time to surrender, so why don't you do that? The faster this battle ends, the sooner I can have the intelligent ones taking care of my little 'problem'. Both men and women are welcome!"

There were a few seconds of stunned silence following Five's little speech, not even the carnage going on around them being enough to snap the exorcists out of it. Many, especially the women, were outraged, some were flabbergasted and a few were seriously considering the blonde's offer.

Until a few bodies flew through the air, causing some of the exorcists to fall to the ground. One of them went towards Five, who stabbed it with her spear before raising the weapon above her head to blow off momentum.

"Sorry Five!" Two rushed into the scene and joined her hands together in apology, her sword held in a reverse grip. "I used too much strength. I swear I wasn't aiming at you...or anyone else."

"Don't worry your pretty little head, dear Two. This is no inconvenience at all." Five waved her hand in playful dismissal, heedless of the blood pouring down on her from the impaled body.

"What is wrong with you?!" One of the exorcists swung his sword at Two, but the blue-haired girl caught his wrist before it could connect.

There was a loud sound of bones snapping.

"I'm sorry!" Two hastily let go of the man, leaving him to nurse his broken wrist. "I had another strength growth recently and I'm not used to it yet. Please surrender, I don't want to hurt you!"

"You bitch!" Another exorcist moved towards Two, only for a sweep of Five's spear to remove his legs from below the knees.

"Two, I understand that you don't want to hurt people. It is indeed a regretful waste of tasty bodies." The blonde took position behind her sister, their backs facing each other. "But they made a choice-"

"And we must accept it." Two finished, recalling One's words. She sighed before raising her sword. "It doesn't mean I like it."

"I deeply regret the necessity of doing this." Four's sweeping kick sneaked below the exorcist's raised guard and slammed into his side. With a pirouette her elbow smashed into his chest, leaving him open for a flurry of blows to the face that knocked out a few teeth and sent him in the arms of Morpheus. "Why must we humans fight each other? Can't you see how pointless this battle is? It's so tragic!" Darting around her claws lashed out, tearing through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

"S-She's so fast!" An exorcist gaped.

"Is she truly human?" A second one wondered in fright.

"Don't lose your nerves! Keep going!"

"This is some serious shit!"

Using one of the exorcists as a springboard Four jumped above the crowd, the sudden barrage of Light spears skewering only the remaining men.

"Agh! You are so, so, so _useless!"_ Mittelt whined in a childish voice while floating in the air.

"What a travesty, for humans to follow a beast's orders." Balancing herself on one of the defiled statutes Four glared at Mittelt, frowning as if forced to look at something especially vile. "To be betrayed by it, is only the natural conclusion."

"SHUT UP!" Screaming the young-looking Fallen Angel raised her hands, five Light spears forming around her. "You're just a lowly human!"

Mittelt lowered her arms, each spear shooting towards Four.

 **"Armaros!"**

The Intoner jumped forward just as the spears were released, lips weaving together a haunting melody. Another golden ring appeared between them, the inside a dome of light upon which the spears shattered. It vanished just as Four passed through it, allowing her to take Mittelt by surprise and grab her face before the momentum and gravity pushed both back to the ground.

Four used the Fallen Angel's body to cushion the fall before sprinting forward, grinding the blonde's back against the ground all the while. The run ended at the opposite side of the church, where Four lifted Mittelt and slammed her against the altar.

"And so God created humankind in his image. Blessed them, and said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. You shall have domination over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth'." Four quoted, her hands a vice grip that held a groaning Mittelt in place. "The same God that made you gave humankind this planet, to use as we see fit. All that live here must obey us. Have you forgotten? Of course you did, you wouldn't be a Fallen Angel otherwise. Someone who betrayed their parent."

Four shifted her hold on Mittelt's head, until her clawed thumbs rested over the blonde's closed eyes.

"Someone who looks down on us humans."

Then, she started **pushing.**

"Someone who dares…who dares call Big Sister Zero a _freak!"_ Four's features twisted into a ugly sneer of hate and sheer rage. Blood and other bodily fluids squirted around her thumbs as they sunk deeper and deeper, the blonde Fallen Angel thrashing around and wailing like a dying animal. "How dare you! How dare you! YOU'RE JUST AN ANIMAL! HOW DARE YOU!"

* * *

While his fellow Fallen Angels and Exorcist minions were being slaughtered Dohnaseek tried again and again to make a hole in one of the sealed doors, but to no avail. No matter how strongly she jammed the head of his Light spear against the door's surface, the spell interwoven into it prevented any sort of structural damage.

"You should give up." The fedora-wearing angel froze at the voice coming from behind him. "There are fifteen magicians supporting this spell around the church. If you were powerful enough to break through it would have happened already."

Slowly he turned around, coming face to face with One. The blonde girl was holding her chakram in a nonchalant way, her posture relaxed, yet the blood on her dress and the bodies lying behind her revealed it as a deception. "Although, I must confess a small curiosity." She continued, as if they were colleagues taking a break together. "Among your group, you are the only one who knows who we are and the degree of danger we pose. How so?"

"…One hundred years ago I was part of an Intoner extermination group." He replied after a few moments of silence, his eyes never once straying from One. "It was the most horrifying experience of my life. If participation after the first time wasn't completely voluntary I would have left the Grigori immediately." He gulped. "How…How it is possible? I have heard the current generation of Intoners has been eliminated one month ago!"

"I see. Well, I can confirm they certainly tried." One hand came up and brushed part of her hair behind her ear. Despite the casual gesture One's eyes were cold and hard like ice. "If I have to guess, Elder Sister caused enough of a mess that your superiors assumed we perished along the others. Or maybe they're keeping news of our survival hidden."

She shrugged. "Either way, I can't really let you go."

A desperate cry erupted from Dohnaseek's mouth. Brandishing his Light spear he shot towards One, his wings beating frantically as he reached his top speed.

The blonde Intoner chanted a single note before taking a step forward.

Dohnaseek crashed into the ground, blood spurting out from where his right arm, wing and leg has been severed from his body. "Y-Youuu…Fucking monster!" He hissed through gritted teeth, his remaining hand trying in vain to stop the bleeding.

One's foot roughly turned him on his back before slamming on his chest, pushing all the air out of his lungs. "Monster?" The blonde girl leaned down, her weight preventing Dohnaseek from breathing as she glared at him with barely restrained fury. "I saw you Angels, both Fallen and not, kill people and destroy their homes indiscriminately while pursuing us. Even _children_ , whose sole crime was living close to us, were not spared! For the sake of killing us you wiped a whole town out of existence!" She hissed. "And you dare call me a monster?!"

Dohnaseek opened his mouth and tried to speak, but One grabbed the side of his face in a vice-like grip, her fingers keeping his jaw closed. "No. Shut up. I am done listening to the poor excuses of beasts like you. I wanted nothing more than to stay under the radar while Elder Sister healed and I worked on my projects, but you all forced my hand."

She violently swung her arm to the side, slamming the Fallen's head against the stone floor and stunning him.

"For all the troubles you caused me…Well, I think it's only appropriate that I search reparations." With a cruel grin One hooked her chakram to the back and spread her arms. "I wanted to try this anyway. **Heed my call!"**

The glyph within One's left eye appeared again. At the same time concentric rings of light containing otherworldly runes rose around them and formed a dome. **"By the power of my Song…"** The blonde girl raised her left hand over her heart, the fingers positioned as if grasping something. **"I hereby forge a Pact in exchange for the life of this creature."**

Dohnaseek's eyes widened in horrified understanding. "N-No! Torture me! Kill me! Anything but this!" He thrashed around, despair greater that he has ever felt in his life eclipsing everything else. "Anything but a Pact!"

 **"Spirits of the North and the South. Of the East and the West. Accept this life, and let it be reborn-"**

With a grimace One's hand seemed to sink inside her chest before she pulled it out, revealing a glowing sphere of light held within her fingers. At the same time Dohnaseek's chest jerked towards the sphere, his screams reaching a new crescendo as an identical sphere came out of it and touched the one within the Intoner's hand.

 **"Within the ranks of the Watchers!"**

Black energy seeped around the point where the two spheres touched each other, taking a flower-like form: it swallowed the sphere that came out of Dohnaseek's chest before sinking back into the one within the blonde girl's hand.

With a last unearthly scream the Fallen Angel's body scattered into motes of light. They briefly gravitated around One on an unseen wind, her face melting in relief as the sphere of light returned within her chest, before gathering above her into a sphere of red light. Rocks then appeared out of nowhere, fusing together until around One was a trio of stone golems, each one eight meters tall.

"Ah. Ahah. Ahahahah." Laughing eerily One walked to one of the golems and leaned on its legs, feeling the new soul and the link that now connected them beating within each of the constructs. "Such strength. Such power. You're perfect. My protector. My Watcher." Her lips split into a cruel smile. "My **Abdiel."**

* * *

"Wow! My superiors are in serious danger! So what's going to happen now!?" Freed asked with a pleased smile, absolutely unconcerned with the fate of the Fallen Angels and his fellow Exiled Exorcists.

"Now you die." Zero swung her sword to remove the blood from her latest kill before pointing it at Freed.

The albino exorcist hummed, giving a small nod before raising one finger. "One moment please."

He aimed his gun at one of the windows and began firing. After the tenth bullet failed to leave even a scratch he lowered his arm. "This place is sealed tighter than a nun's cunt, uh?"

"Yeah." Zero scoffed. "I don't care if-"

"Okay!" Freed let his weapons fall to the ground and clapped his hands." I accept!"

"-you resist or not, but…" Zero paused. "You what?"

"I accept your offer of new employment." He nodded. "Let's get along, new Boss Lady."

"Uh…sure." Zero lowered her sword, all the excitement from the anticipated murder gone. "Whatever. Fuck it, that was the goal all along I guess."

"Great! Talking about it, do we fuck now?"

Zero looked around at the ruined church, the floor full of dismembered bodies and puddles of blood. "Here?"

"I raped bitches in worse places." Freed shamelessly admitted. "Actually, all this blood and death hit many of my buttons."

"Well, they don't hit mine. So no." Zero rested her sword on her shoulder and began to walk in the opposite direction. "Wait until we're back home."

"Awww, come on!" Freed complained, quickly retrieving his weapons and putting them away before following after Zero. "Not even a quickie?"

She waved at the defeated exorcists, both dead and alive. "Take your pick."

"I can? Wait, this is my chance!" He left Zero's side and approached Three, who was checking a fainted Kalawarner's pupil. "Hey Purple!"

She slowly turned to look at him, a bored expression on her face.

"I'm on your side now." He then pointed at the Fallen Angel. "Can I fuck her? Just one blow is enough, I always wanted to have sex with an Angel. To me, it's like the best honor."

The purple-haired Intoner's expression didn't change. After a few seconds of silence she shrugged. "Go ahead. I planned to remove that part anyway."

"Gotta hurry then." Freed began to take off his pants, before noticing Three has yet to move. "You gonna watch?"

"This interests me. I'll gather first-hand data."

"Suit yourself."

Meanwhile Zero has reached One's location, with the blonde Intoner keeping watch over the other exorcists that surrendered. "I saw what you did." The white-haired woman began with a casual tone. "So it's true? Can we really make more Watchers with this Pact thing?"

"That's right." One nodded while looking at her hand, fingers slowly opening and closing. "The knowledge of how our powers work is mostly instinctual, but it's not wrong. Even if all of us already have one, increasing our options will be beneficial."

"All I ask is that they're easier to summon." Zero grimaced slightly.

"Big Sis Zero! Big Sis One!" Two and Four joined them. "Is it over?"

"Yes." One confirmed. "Prepare to leave in a short time, the Bats may decide to investigate. It's better to avoid them altogether. Three and Five?"

"Five has…uh." Two fidgeted. "The exorcists that surrendered to us, he took two aside and…"

"I can guess the rest." One drily interrupted her. "And Three?"

"There." Zero pointed behind her back with a thumb.

One looked in the direction indicated by her sister and immediately regretted it. Weren't those kind of things supposed to be done in private?!

* * *

Issei Hyodou stared at his vast collection of magazines, DVD and other items of questionable nature with a forlorn expression. Normally rubbing one off is enough to let him get over most negative feelings, but right now he felt like even that wouldn't help. It was, jarringly enough, a first in his life.

When he came back home, his clothes stained with Yuuma's blood, his parents freaked out, fussing over him to check for injuries and asking what happened. But what could he tell them? The truth was too unbelievable, and they would be able to see through any lie he could think of.

Thankfully his mother, after seeing his haunted face while he struggled to explain, gave up on the questioning. His parents obviously still wanted answers, but they were willing to wait until he was ready to tell them himself.

Issei would never take his parents for granted, ever again. He silently promised to himself he would make up with them one day for the scare he gave them.

Still, right now even he had troubles coming to terms with what happened being reality, no matter if the blood on his clothes was a very glaring proof. To say nothing about the amount that landed on his face: three showers, and he could still feel it.

He sighed. If not even his beloved porno were of any comfort what did that left him? More because of a lack of options that any real interest he took his cellphone and fell with his back on the bed. Opening the browser he went through his links: nothing…nothing…oh, they were still talking about that disaster in England. Something about a storm and an earthquake happening at the same time and completely devastating a region. The number of confirmed victims...has reached the six digits? Nasty.

"Gah!" Issei let go of the cellphone and sit up, hands slapping his cheeks strong enough to hurt. He focused on the pain and used it to clear his mind. When he removed his hands the usual perverted grin was back on his lips. "I don't get it! This is so confusing! But that's fine: all I have to do, is directly ask Song-san what's really going on!"

* * *

 **Pride's Grandeur**

The chakram used by the Intoner, One.

 **Level 1**  
Though my stature is small, I assure you. I am the first. I am the just. And I shall not be found wanting.

 **Level 2**  
?

 **Level 3**  
?

 **Level 4**  
?


End file.
